Page 51 of Brody
“Uncomplicated,” he repeated, fighting a smile.“Right.Because analyzing electromagnetic frequencies and infrared anomalies is so much simpler than your actual job.”
“At least ghosts don’t require peer review,” I shot back.“Or ethics committees.Or pharmaceutical boards trying to steal your research.”
His laugh was rich and unexpected.“Fair point.Any particular shows?”
“Watching grown men scream at doorknobs never gets old.”I took a sip of coffee to hide my embarrassment.“What?Everyone needs mindless entertainment.”
“I’m not judging,” he said, but his eyes were definitely laughing.“It’s just… You realize you’re describing the supernatural like it’s fiction, right?While sitting in a town full of actual supernatural beings?”
I paused, fork halfway to my mouth.“Well, when you put it like that, it sounds ridiculous.”
“Adorably ridiculous,” he said, and something warm unfurled in my chest at the word “adorable.”
“Any OIA intel after last night’s attack?”I asked, dragging the conversation to safer ground.
His expression darkened.“Not yet, but Quinn has the pack reaching out to our own contacts.”
I set down my fork.“We need to get to the COL fast.The faster I figure out how to stabilize the COL water, the closer to a breakthrough we’ll get.”
“Agreed,” Brody said.
“Then we go now,” I said, surprising myself with my decisiveness.
His eyebrows rose.“This isn’t a nature walk, Rozi.It’s a climb that could kill us both.”
“Everything could kill us right now,” I pointed out.“At least this way, we die trying to save lives instead of hiding from pharmaceutical assassins.”
Something shifted in his expression—respect, maybe, mixed with the kind of protective fury that made my core clench with unwanted heat.
“All right,” he said finally.“But we do this my way.You follow my lead, use the equipment I give you, and if I say we turn back…” He stepped closer, close enough that the aroma of sandalwood and citrus mingled with something purely male.“We turn back.No arguments.”
I lifted my chin defiantly.“I don’t take orders, Thornbern.”
“On this trek, you do.”His voice carried absolute authority.“It’s dangerous fucking terrain, and the weather in the Ridge is damn unpredictable.I don’t doubt your hiking skills, but I’m familiar with this terrain and you’re not.”
The blunt honesty should have offended me.Instead, it sent heat curling in my system.This was Brody in full protective mode, deadly serious and completely in control.
“Fine,” I said, though the word tasted like rebellion.“Your forest, your rules.”
“Damn right.”Desire transformed his gaze.“Just don’t forget who’s in charge out there.”
The dominance in his tone should have offended me.Instead, it sent liquid heat pooling low in my belly, my inner cheetah stretching lazily in response to the challenge.I stepped closer, invading his space until barely an inch separated us.
“I don’t take orders well, Thornbern,” I whispered, my voice dropping to a husky register I barely recognized.“Not even in your precious COL.”
His nostrils flared as he caught my scent, the subtle change in my body chemistry betraying my arousal, despite my defiant words.For one heart-stopping moment, I thought he might close that final inch between us.
Instead, he smiled, slow, predatory, promising.“We’ll see about that, Dr.Dhahabu.”He brushed past me toward the stairs, his body heat searing my skin even through our clothes.“Twenty minutes.We have a long journey ahead, and the COL doesn’t forgive mistakes.”
I watched him go.What was I doing?Years of careful distance, and now I was about to spend days alone with him in the wilderness, in Fae cabins with beds and privacy and no one to hear us if— I cut off the thought before it could fully form.The COL was about research.Finding a cure.Nothing more.
So why did it feel like I was walking willingly into the most exquisite trap I’d ever seen?
CHAPTER13
ROZI
The truck’s engine fell silent as Brody pulled into what appeared to be nothing more than a small clearing, miles from where we’d started at his cabin.We’d driven for nearly an hour, leaving paved roads behind for gravel, then dirt, and, finally, what could barely be called a trail.The entire time, my heart raced with a mix of anticipation and something more primal, the awareness of being alone with him, truly alone, for the next several days.
